Mid-Life Chrysalis
"Mid-Life Chrysalis" is the eighth episode in the first season of The Venture Bros. Plot While flying to Marrakech, the X-1 is intercepted by fighter planes and instructed to land. On the ground, the airmen curtly state that the jet has violated secure airspace. Venture begins to reply, but the soldiers cut him off, insulting his scrawny frame and calling him "Grandpa." When Brock produces his secret agent identification, he is shocked to learn that his license to kill has expired. The incident sends both of the men into depression, with Brock losing his purpose in life and Venture frantically grasping at his faded youth. Hank and Dean attempt to cheer Brock up, finally volunteering to help him pass his recertification exam. In the meantime, Venture drags out his "swinging single" wardrobe and buys a new sports car and a toupee. Dressed in a hideous ensemble he thinks is fashionable, he begs Brock to accompany him for a "boys' night out." Brock reluctantly agrees, if only for entertainment purposes. Temporarily unsupervised, Dean dares Hank to drink a disgusting mixture he concocts. After agreeing to the stakes (their grandfather's baseball glove and Dean's slavery for the remainder of the night), Hank closes his eyes and downs the awful drink. He then proceeds to command Dean to perform a series of demeaning chores. Venture and Brock pull up to a pathetic, nearly deserted strip club. While Venture flirts awkwardly with the strippers, the bartender mocks Brock's mullet, sending the bodyguard into further depression since he can no longer kill with impunity. He meets one of the strippers in the restroom for a sexual encounter, but is unable to perform due to tantalizing memories of his secret agent adventures. Improbably, a woman begins showing interest in Venture; he fails to recognize that "Charlene" is a thinly-disguised Dr. Girlfriend. She continues the charade while remaining in contact with The Monarch through a communications link. Venture takes her back to the compound, where he begins fumbling for a condom; while he is distracted, Dr. Girlfriend delivers an injection to his neck that knocks him out cold. The next morning, Brock continues to mope over his expired license. Hank appears in a sweatsuit, commanding the bodyguard to drink a glass of raw eggs before beginning an exercise regimen. Venture struts through the kitchen, none-too-subtly announcing his perceived "score" from the previous night and proudly displaying the hickey on his neck. He returns to the bedroom with two mugs of coffee but is dismayed to find Charlene gone. Still smitten, he calls her and insists on another "date;" Dr. Girlfriend agrees, leading to an argument with The Monarch over her motives. Hank revels in his role of trainer, verbally abusing Brock while putting him through an exhaustive fitness routine. Dean does his part by helping him study for the written portion of the exam. Brock attempts to alert Venture to the growth that has consumed one side of his face, but the lovestruck doctor dismisses the bodyguard's brief display of concern. The next morning, a pessimistic Brock leaves to take his recertification exam. Seconds later, Hank and Dean hear a bloodcurdling scream from their father's bedroom. They investigate and find that Venture has turned into a gigantic caterpillar with a human face. The distraught scientist attempts to find a chemical solution to his predicament, but his prolegs can not manipulate the equipment and H.E.L.P.eR. proves useless. Resigned to his fate, he tries to convince H.E.L.P.eR. and Hank to agree to shoot him. The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend continue to quibble over Venture's fate. When she expresses sympathy for him, the jealous Monarch accuses her of sleeping with him. She responds that he is nicer than she thought he would be and regrets injecting him with the serum. At the exam, Brock refuses to fire a handgun, destroying several cardboard targets by hurling the firearm and others with his knife. On the written portion, he doodles "Apollo" (from the logo of Led Zeppelin's Swan Song record label) instead of answering the questions. Brock commits a common error in referring to the figure as Icarus. The examiner initially seems disgusted by Brock's incompetence, but soon confesses that Samson has fulfilled his every expectation; Brock had not only saved the life of the examiner's father (who spoke very highly of Samson to his son), but babysat the examiner himself decades ago. Venture's new insectile instincts move him to spin a cocoon from the laboratory ceiling. He is surprised by Charlene, who says goodbye and gives him a final kiss... and then injects him with another mysterious compound. The final scene shows Venture awakening naked and restored to his normal form on the lab floor — Dr. Girlfriend had administered the antidote. Trivia *The episode's title is a combination of "mid-life crisis" (the depression Brock and Venture experience) and chrysalis (the pupal phase of a butterfly's life). *When Dr. Venture is turned into a caterpillar, he warns Dean that he may soon turn into something dangerous that might try to kill the boys, and demands if Dean knows how to fire a shotgun (presumably, to euthanize Venture before he can harm his sons). This is a reference to The Fly (1986 film), in which the creator of a teleportation devise fuzes with a fly, becoming a horrible insect hybrid, and in the end is euthanized with a shotgun blast to the head. *In Brock's flashbacks, some of his "victims" wear an upside-down anarchy symbol on their cloaks. This, as well as the memory of Brock harpooning frogmen (technically sharkmen), are references to Jonny Quest. **Probably as pure coincidence, the upside-down anarchy-symbol looks remarkably similar to the V symbol (also an upturned anarchy symbol) from V For Vendetta: the film adaptation of V for Vendetta was released almost a year and a half after this episode aired, although the graphic novel has been in print since the late 1980's. *During this episode's DVD commentary, Jackson Publick expresses surprise at the references he "got away with" in "Chrysalis", including strippers, supposed anarchists, and an abortion joke. He stated that the "little black boxes" censoring nudity and near-nudity only made the episode funnier. *When the examiner questions the winged figure Brock drew on the written exam, the bodyguard refers to it as "Icarus." The figure, although closely associated with Led Zeppelin, is actually the logo of Swan Song Records and is based on an 1869 painting by William Rimmer depicting Apollo. *The song during Brock's training montage is called "Revv Me Up" by Jasper McVain and can be freely downloaded on the official Venture Bros. website. *On the DVD commentary, Publick and Hammer discuss the inspiration for Dr. Venture's bar-hopping ensemble as being based on something they saw on a "bad clothing" website. It was likely this outfit from Lileks.com. *One of the animation directors (Kimson Albert) gets to have a "nickname" inserted into his credits. The nickname is an unusual line or word from the preceding episode. For "Mid-Life Chrysalis" the credit reads Kimson "all out of condom" Albert. Category:The Venture Bros. episodes